Brassiere construction



Sept. 16, 1969 w n' I 3,467,105

BRASSIERE CONSTRUCTION Filed Jan. 16, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Eve 0. White INVENTOR.

Sept. 16, 1969 E. 0. WHITE BRASSIERE CONSTRUCTION 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 16, 1967 Eve 0. White IN VIENTOR.

United States Patent 3,467,105 BRASSIERE CONSTRUCTION Eve D. White, 2710 S. Ocean Drive, Apt. 105, Hollywood, Fla. 33020 Filed Jan. 16, 1967, Ser. No. 609,540 Int. Cl. A41c 3/00 US. Cl. 128-425 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A brassiere constructed of fabric material without the use of any rigid stays or reinforcement and without elastic components and which may be worn as a halter or brassiere and being relatively inexpensive to manufacture. The brassiere is especially constructed for persons having relatively large or pendant breasts and imparts firm youthful lines thereto, adjusts automatically to various breast shapes and encompasses the entire breast wtihout any overflow.

An object of the present invention is to provide a brassiere construction which is constructed completely of cloth without rigid stays or elastic material and constructed in such a manner that the device may be used as a halter as well as a brassiere.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a brassiere construction which will impart youthful lines to large or pendant breasts of various sizes and shapes without overflow of the breast around the periphery of the breast cup.

Still another important object of the present invention is to provide a brassiere structure in which at least some of the supporting straps are attached to both the top and bottom edge thereof to facilitate support of the brassiere.

Still another important feature of the present invention is to provide a brassiere construction having cloth inserts cut on a bias and a complete absence of rigid stays, reinforcements and the like thereby providing a brassiere which is comfortable, easy to launder, capable of being used as a brassiere or halter, relatively inexpensive in construction and effective for properly supporting and shaping the breasts of the wearer.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the 'brasiere of the present invention illustrating the structure in use;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmental perspective view illustrating a portion of the structure of FIGURE 1 with the brassiere partially placed in position;

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of the brassiere disposed in a flattened condition as observed from the inner surface thereof;

FIGURE 4 is a detailed sectional view taken substantially upon a plane passing along section line 44 of FIGURE 3 illustrating the manner in which the supporting strap is attached to both the top and bottom edges of the brassiere; and

FIGURE 5 is a detailed sectional view taken substantially upon a plane passing along section line 55 of FIGURE 3 illustrating further structural details of the brassiere including the fastener assemblies.

Referring now specifically to the drawings, the numeral generally designates the brassiere construction of the present invention which is disposed in encircling relation to the chest area of a wearer 12 in a conventional manner with there being provided a pair of shoulder straps 14 3,467,105 Patented Sept. 16, 1969 and 16 which extend over top of the shoulders 18 of the wearer 12 in a completely conventional manner so that the brassiere structure will be properly supported.

The brassiere 10 includes a pair of main breast cup forming panels 20 and 22 which are joined to each other along a vertical center seam 24. The top edge of the panels 20 and 22 have a reversely folded hem 26 along the top edge thereof and are joined to the apex of the upper edge of the breast cup forming panels 20 and 22 are the shoulder straps 14 and 16 which are joined thereto by suitable stitching 28 or the like.

Extending laterally outwardly from the breast cup forming panels 20 and 22 is a pair of back panels 30 and 32 each of which has a continuation of the hem 26 along the upper edge thereof as designated by the numeral 34. The ends of the shoulder straps are attached to the hem 34 and as illustrated in FIGURE 4, the shoulder straps are attached by stitching 36 and the terminal end of each shoulder strap designed by numeral 38 extends across the inner surface of the panel 32 and is attached to a reversely folded hem 40 along the lower edge of the panel 32 by stitching 42. Thus, the terminal end portion of each of the shoulder straps 14 and 16 is attached to the upper edge of the panels 30 and 32 respectively by stitching 36 and extends across the inner face of the panels 30 and 32 respectively and is inserted into the hem 40 and secured in place by stitching 42. As illustrated in FIGURE 5, the terminal end portion 38 of the shoulder strap is of double thickness of material having central seams to provide for adequate strength in supporting the brassiere in the desired manner.

As illustrated in FIGURE 3, the inner surface of the panels 20 and 22 have a relatively wide inner lining member 44 and 46 attached thereto by stitching along the lower edge thereof as at 48 with the lining being a continuation of the hem 40 which also may be a separately attached lining element if desired.

The main body panels 20 and 22 also have darts 50 formed therein extending from the lower edge to a point adjacent the center of each of the panels thus defining generally conical shape or configuration to the panels 20 and 22. Similar but smaller darts 52 are provided in the lower edge of the panels 30 and 32 respectively so that the panels 30 and 32 may more closely follow the contours of the body surface which they engage. The outer edge of the panel 30 is provided with a facing member 54 attached thereto by stitching 56. Hook-like fasteners 58 have their attaching end received between the facing 54 and the panel 30 with the stitching 56 securing the fasteners 58 in place. At the opposite end of the brassiere and attached to the outer edge of the panel 32, there are two rows of loop-type fasteners 60 and 62 disposed in spaced relation to each other and received between the end of the panel 32 and a facing member 64 which actually forms an extension and receives the second row of loops 62 which are also secured in place by a facing member 66 all of which is secured in position by stitching 68 in a well known manner.

In each of the panels 30 and 32, there is provided a bias insert 70 which has one edge thereof secured under the facing 64 or 60- and another edge secured under the hem or facing 40 and with the remaining periphery thereof being defined by an arcuate edge 72 which is disposed under the terminal end portion 38 of the straps to provide for stiffening of this area of the brassiere.

The juncture between the panel 30 and the panel 20 and between the panel 32 and panel 22 is illustrated in FIGURE 2 and includes a conventional seam 74.

Also, the center seam 24 is provided with three vertically spaced horizontally extending darts 76 to further shape and form the breast cups to prevent overflow.

Where the darts are illustrated, the fabric may actually be formed with a triangular cutout area with the edges of the cutout area then being stitched together to form the desired configuration. The lower edge of the panels which are formed with hems or with a facing panel cooperate to form a lower band-like structure which encircles the chest area of the wearer below the breasts and by supporting the band from both the top and bottom edge thereof at the rear will provide for more uplifting force to be exerted under the breasts inasmuch as both the top and bottom edge of the band-like structure will be supporting the shoulder straps and retaining them in an elevated condition.

The fabric may be of any suitable material including various decorative materials which enable the device to be worn as a halter inasmuch as the band structure is relatively wide and the breast cups are relatively large. If a halter is to be specially constructed employing the structure of the present invention therein, it may be provided with decorative materials such as a rufile along the upper edge of the device and possibly along the shoulder straps to provide a garment which is more satisfactory from an aesthetic standpoint.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

I claim:

1. A brassiere comprising a pair of breast cup forming panels joined together along a vertical central seam, a pair of back panels connected respectively to the outer edges of the breast cup forming panels, means on the free ends of said back panels for a detachable connection for securing the brassiere in encircling relation to a wearer, shoulder straps attached to the upper edge of the breast cup forming panels and to the upper edge of the back panels for positioning over the shoulders of a wearer to provide support therefor, each of said breast cup forming panels having a dart extending from a point adjacent the center thereof to the lower edge to form a breast cup of substantially conical configuration, all of said brassiere except the fastener means being constructed of inelastic fabric material devoid of rigid reinforcements, said center seam between the breast cup forming panels including a plurality of vertically spaced horizontally disposed darts adjacent the upper portion of the panels to further shape the breast cup forming panels, each of said shoulder straps extending across the inner face of the respective back panel to which it is attached with the strap also attached to the lower edge of the back panel.

2. The structure as defined in claim 1 wherein said detachable connection means is in the form of a vertical row of hooks on one of the back panels and a pair of longitudinally spaced vertical rows of loops on the other of the back panels for enabling adjustment of the size of the brassiere, each back panel having an interior bias cloth insert at the rear lower corner thereof, and a lining panel extending along the lower edge of the breast cup forming panels and the back panels, the lining panel being relatively wide across the breast cup forming panels and relatively narrow along the back panels.

3. The structure as defined in claim 2 wherein the bottom edge of the breast cup forming panels and back panels each has an inturned hem thereon, said lining panel being providedwith an outturned hem at the lower and top edges thereof with the lower hem on the lining panel being attached to the inturned hem on the lower edge of the breast cup forming panels and the back panels, the upper hem on the lining being secured to the breast cup forming panels and the back panels, the lower end of the rear portion of each shoulder strap being disposed between the back panel and the outturned hem on the lining panel and being stitched thereto, the upper edge of the bias insert being arcuate and extending under the portion of the shoulder strap extending between the upper and lower edges of the back panel respectively, the lower edge of the insert being disposed between the lower edge portion of the back panel and the lower end of the shoulder strap and stitched thereto, each of said rear panels including a small dart extending upwardly from the lower edge thereof to shape and conform the back panel with the contours of the body surface to be engaged thereby,,the entire length of the top edge of each breast cup forming panel and each back panel including an inwardly folded hem for reinforcing the upper edge of the brassiere with the forward ends of the shoulder straps being secured to the hem along the upper edge thereof.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,824,613 9/1931 Middleton 128-425 1,899,761 2/1933 Kops 128-432 3,358,691 12/1967 Hayes 128-510 ADELE M. EAGER, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. l285 10 

